I apologize for my long and unexpected hiatus. The end of this past semester was more difficult than I had originally anticipated. Coupling that with the fact that I've been busier than I usually am, I haven't been able to update as much as I would have liked to. However, as of today, I have...(let me check my calendar)...24 more days of winter break left and as such will have PLENTY of time to catch up on my writing.

Those of you that read/follow the story 6738 Miles will be glad to hear that the next chapter of that is already half-finished. Once I complete it I'll get it right on up for you all.

I also have several chapters of BB in the works and shall get those out as soon as possible.

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Leonardo rolled out of bed the next morning so upset, red-eyed, and sleep-deprived that he forgot about his injuries, and received a painful reminder. His feet buckled, his vision swirled, and he tumbled to the ground. His flailing arms swept the lamp off the nightstand. The light bulb shattered and the heavy base slammed down on the cement floor.

Leo cursed and stared at the ceiling as he lay on his shell with the wind knocked out of him, trying to gather strength.

Naturally, the commotion brought family members running. He was expecting Donatello or Master Splinter, but the first one on the scene was Slash.

"Leonardo!" The giant turtle rushed over and hoisted Leo off the ground. "You shouldn't be out of bed."

"Evidently," agreed Leo, allowing Slash to lift him up without a struggle. He groaned as he was set down softly on the bed. His arm had been cut by broken glass and was bleeding. Because of the pain he was already in, he barely felt it. In fact, he probably wouldn't have noticed if Slash hadn't been staring.

"Donatello's sleeping. I'll go get the first-aid kit from the lab."

Leo shifted, "You have much experience with first aid?"

"Enough," he answered, "What I didn't learn from Rockwell, I know from watching R—" Slash cut himself off and the rest of the sentence hung over their heads. Tension rose, but Slash shook it off and rushed out.

Leo stared after the big turtle, his mind reeling. Raph. Slash learned from watching Raph, back when—wait a second.

Raph had taken care of his own injuries? When? Why hadn't he gone to Master Splinter or Donatello? They could have helped him. Why did he always have to do everything by himself? Why couldn't he trust them? Why couldn't he let them help him?

Because he was afraid of being blown off. Because he was afraid of being shouted at, of getting in another fight, of being completely ignored—of getting angry.

Slash returned a few moments later. The air was heavy. It spun around their heads, filled with thoughts and remembrances.

"Leo, he asked me to tell you all that he loved you."

Leo stared, his brain not fully absorbing the words until a full two minutes of silence had ticked past. His eyes blurred. He closed them and let out a long, slow breath. "Why wait this long to say anything?"

"His death was my fault. I was lost in my own emotions, I forgot myself. I forgot my team, I forgot my pledge, and I forgot the honor I owed my friend. For that I can only apologize."

Silence resumed. Leo hesitated. Slash lingered awkwardly. Finally, accepting the eldest turtle's silence, he started to go.

"Wait."

Slash paused, but didn't look back.

"I—don't blame you. We've all been," Leo swallowed, trying to hold back a flood of emotion, "distracted since..." he didn't get any further than that. His throat tightened.

Slash seemed to understand. He exhaled slowly. "Yes. We have, but it's time to remember what we fight for. It's what he'd want."

Leo's thoughts flew back to the previous night. Raphael had saved him from the darkness that had threatened to consume him. That sacrifice would not be made in vain. He had to live.

He would make his little brother proud.

A miniscule tear streaked his face and he hastily wiped it away. Nodding to Slash, he pledged solemnly, "For Raphael."

Slash was briefly stunned, but soon nodded in agreement. "For Raphael."

"Leo!" Donatello swept into the room like a hurricane with hay fever. He bent over with his hands on his knees to catch some breath. His words were interspersed with erratic gasps for breath. "You gotta come quick!"

"What is it Donnie?" Leo asked, filled with worry.

"Just come to the lab," Don paused to look at Slash.

Slash nodded assent and carefully lifted Leonardo up and followed the brainiac to the lab.

Splinter, Rockwell and the other Mutanimals were already there, surrounding the lab table where Raph's body lay. Leo could hardly bring himself to look...but he did.

What he saw made his heart stop.

Raphael was breathing. Raph was alive. He was alive! But—how?

No. That didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Raphael was alive. His brother was alive.

Slash stood stock-still. In the shock of the moment, his grip laxed.

Seizing opportunity, Leo propelled himself onto his feet. His family launched vehement protests, but he ignored them. He fell against the lab table, his feet struggling to keep purchase on the ground below them. The pain was immense, but it was nothing to the beating of his heart ringing in his ears as he reached down and grasped his brother's hand.

"R-Raph?" Weak as the call was, the figure on the table stirred.

Leonardo watched with bated breath as Raph's face twisted. Slowly, almost tortuously, the emerald green eyelids raised just the slightest crack.

By this point, Donatello, Michelangelo and Master Splinter had all swarmed the lab table, looking on with anxious faces.

Raphael's snout wrinkled in distaste. He closed his eyes and flinched at the sudden bombardment of harsh light. Thankfully, one of the big, blurry figures surrounding him leaned in and blocked it from his eyes.

He pried them open once again and tried to make sense of the strange-looking shadows looming over him.

"Raph?" the weak voice called again.

Who—who was that? L-L-Leo? Raphael's sluggish mind fought off a gathering haze and began to clear.

That—that thing had tried doing something to Leo! Trying to hurt him. Was Leo okay? What was going on? That thing—that Shadow—it had tried to kill Leo and then—he couldn't remember. His brothers! Were his brothers alright? And what about Master Splinter? Were they all here?

He had to know. He had to see. He had to wake up.

Raphael tore his way to consciousness, ripping through each and every barrier, to return to his brothers and see for himself.

Leo's was the first face he saw. Initial relief tumbled into panic. Something was wrong.

As soon as Raphael's eyes opened and fixed upon him, full of life and green fire, Leo's control lapsed. The pain overtook him. His knees buckled, his strength waned, and he passed out.

Weakly jolting upward, the first word off Raphael's lips was a gasp of his older brother's name.

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"Don...is he gonna be okay?"

"For the hundredth time tonight, Raphael, I'm telling you he'll be fine."

"But the way he just passed out, are you sure—"

Donatello held up a hand. "Which of us is the doctor here?"

"Neither," Raph responded dryly.

Rolling his eyes, Donatello grumbled, "Well, I might as well be with all the strain you and our brave Leader over there put me under."

Raphael had no answer to that. He looked over at his unconscious brother and frowned.

Donnie could feel the worry radiating off of Raphael. Humph. Leo was, unquestionably, the worrywart in the family, but himself and Raphael were close seconds. He pulled the hothead aside gently and lowered his voice.

"Look, I'm going to keep him sedated."

Raph's eyes shot upwards to meet Don's stern, brown gaze.

"Only for the next couple of days so that his body can start recovering before he begins to overwork himself again."

"Which, knowing him, he will do."

With a sound of agreement, Donatello added, "As soon as he's able, no doubt."

"And when are you going to stop overworking yourself, Don?"

A world-weary sigh left the brainiac's lips, "When my brothers stop getting themselves situations I have to fix."

"In other words: no time soon."

"Let's hope not." Don said, gravely. "I dread the day when one of you drags in a problem I can't fix."

"Then let's hope it never happens. You're a smart guy, Don. Just cuz we depend on you for a lot of things, doesn't mean you have to bear all that weight alone."

"We thought you were dead. I thought the antiserum was flawed. For a solid twelve hours, I thought you were dead and that it was my fault."

"Donnie...it wouldn't have been your fault." Raphael urged.

Shaking his head, the brainiac disagreed, "Yes, it would have, Raph! I was so—so confident that I had gotten it right. That there were no errors in my calculations."

Raph grabbed his shoulder. "And there weren't." He smiled softly. "Only error you made, little brother, was in your calculation of the time it would take for the stuff to take effect and that it would briefly put me in a death-like state just like the venom itself."

"And I should have been able to predict as much!"

"Ya ain't infallible, Donnie. Let it go."

"How can I? It might have injured you. You could have died! And this isn't the first time I've had one of your guys' lives in my hands!"

"Donnie..." Raphael yanked his younger brother into a strong hug, rubbing the younger's shell soothingly. "Let it go, little brother. Let it go. You saved my life. You did good, relax."

"We thought we'd lost you forever."

"It's alright, Donnie. It's alright. I'm here now. We'll be alright. I promise. It's just like I told Mikey. I'll be with you guys, always. No matter what happens."

"P-p-promise?" Don asked, allowing his composure to crack a little.

"Promise." Raphael hugged his brother tightly and in a quieter voice added, "Always."

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Leo's head felt like a lead balloon. He groaned and turned his head to the side.

Raphael...

At his side, his immediate younger brother slumped on a three-legged stool, fast asleep. His stirring had awakened the other. Raphael stretched and cracked his neck. Leo couldn't stop himself from smiling at the sight. Even the hothead's sternest glare couldn't shake the elation he felt. And Raph was most definitely glaring.

"I hope you're pleased with yourself. Donatello's had you sedated for two days to give your body enough time to recover. Not only are you dumb enough to try taking on Shredder by yourself, but you hurt our little brothers and got yourself hurt in the aftermath." Raph wasn't just peeved, he was absolutely furious. "Oh, but that wasn't enough for Fearless Leo! Oh, no. Leonardo just has to go and push himself beyond his limits, to the point where he passes out, drops down on the ground and lays for dead. Scaring his brother—recently revived, by the way—into nearly joining him there!" Sliding off the stool and onto his own two feet, Raph crossed his arms over his plastron in that wonderfully familiar way.

Leo couldn't wipe the smile off of his face. Raphael was alive—alive and kicking.

"The shell are you smiling at?! I'm serious!"

"I'm just happy you're alive."

Raphael's anger melted for the moment. An affectionate smile curled his lips. "You and everyone else around here," he grumbled.

Smile dimming slightly, Leo opened his arms. His younger brother eyed him reluctantly, but gently leant down for a sort of half-hug.

The red-masked turtle began to pull up but Leo held fast.

"Raph...about what I said that day before you left, I—"

"Leo, don't." Raph's arms came up and he returned the hug. "I owe ya one, Fearless. Ya saved me from myself."

Leo pulled back and stared at his brother in surprise. "Then...then it wasn't—"

"A dream? Don't think so. Unless we both had the same one."

His thoughts drifting back to that strange dream realm, Leo looked away.

"Thanks for the help," Raph murmured.

Leo nodded absently, and they fell into silence.

"We're even, you know," Leo pointed out. "You kept it from killing me."

Raphael grinned. "That's what brothers are for."

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About an hour later, Master Splinter walked in to the lab. He glanced at Leonardo's sleeping form and then expectantly at Raphael, who stared flatly back at him.

"He's been asleep for about half an hour."

The old rat nodded. "He needs the rest."

"Did he take care of himself at all while I was down for the count?"

"I'm afraid we all had our shortcomings in that line, my son."

Green eyes rose to meet watery brown ones. A paw reached out and gently rested on Raphael's shoulder, tugging the teenager into a firm embrace.

"We were devastated by your loss. I thought I had lost another child." Though conscious that Raphael disliked hugs, Splinter held his son tight and gently nuzzled the youth, for the first time since Raphael's awakening, allowing the full scale of his relief to show. "My son," he whispered, his deep voice cracking with emotion.

Contrary to his father's expectations, Raph did not pull away from the hug. Instead, he leaned into it eagerly and even returned it. "It's okay, father. I'm here. I'm fine."

Splinter smiled and squeezed the teenager tightly one last time before pulling away. "Yes, my son, and I could not be more grateful."

Raphael resumed his seat on the stool at Leonardo's side and Splinter frowned.

"Go to bed, young one. Leonardo is not the only one who must recover his strength. I can watch over him tonight."

A tired, yet knowledgeable grin flashed at the corner of Raph's lips. "I was 'asleep' for almost seventy-two hours, Master Splinter. Don and Mikey told me you've barely gotten any sleep these last few nights. I'd say you need it more than I do."

"Do not overdo, Raphael. As I say, you are also recovering from an ordeal."

"Hai Sensei. I can sleep on Donnie's cot." The red-masked turtle nodded toward the little bed Don had set up in the corner of the lab used for power naps on late nights when the brainiac was working hard.

Splinter smiled softly. "Then goodnight, little one."

"Not so little anymore, Sensei," Raph pointed out.

"On the contrary, you and your brothers will always be my little ones." The old rat put a hand on Raph's shoulder. "Goodnight, Raphael."

"Goodnight," Raph yawned, "Sensei."

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Welp, there's that. Just one more chapter to go and I promise it won't take me as long as this one did. It's gonna be sort of an epilogue/tag, to sufficiently wrap things up.

How was it?